Method and apparatus for mounting filaments



April 1, 1930. H. DE JONG 1,752,895

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING FILAMENTS Filed Nov. 1, 1927 lm/entorf Hendrik clG: dong.

Has Attom Patented Apr. 1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HENDRIX DE JONG, OF EINDHOVEN; NETHERLANDS, ASSIGNOB TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING FILAMENTS Application flled liovember 1, 1927, Serial No. 230,836, and in the Netherlands December 1, 1926.

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for mounting a filament on the support wires or anchors of electric lamps or similar devices.

The manufacture of incandescent lamps, as a result of the continual improvement in the machines used, has now reached such a stage that an attempt to eliminate the manual labor still required for the manufacture of an incandescent lamp becomes feasible. One of the most diflicult problems in lamp manufacture is the mounting of a filament on the support wires of electric lamps by machinery. It has already been attempted to hold the completed spider with its support wires in a machine and to wind the filament in these support wires bymeans of a mechanical winding machine. However, the difliculty has been encountered that those parts of the support wires which support the filament may be damaged or deformed in such a way that they do not hold the filament.

One object of this invention is to provide an improved method of mounting the filament. Another object is to provide a method and an apparatus for mounting a filament such that the mounting will take place in such a way that the filament support hooks will not be damaged.

In accordance with the invention, the part of the support wire which supports the filament is bent into its definite shape only after the filament has been brought into the correct position with relation to the support wire. This method is suitable for use with the mount for gas filled lamps as well as for vacuum lamps. In the first case, the support wire is wound around the filament so as to form an eye, while in the second case the support wire must be bent into a hook in such a way that the filament when brought into the proper position with re ard to the su port wire is supported by the ook.

y the method of the invention it is now possible to fuse or embed the support wires in the shape of straight wires in the arbor of the stem of the incandescent lamp and to place the filament in its correct position with relation to each of these uncompleted support wires and then to bend the support wire into its definite and final shape. According to the lnvention, the support wire is fed as a straight wire to an anchor holder which holds the wire in a pre-determined position.

Thereupon the filament is brought successively into correct position with relation to each of the support wires, which are then bent to their definite shape, all the support wires being simultaneously fused or inserted into the arbor. By this method the entire combination of the filament and its supports may be assembled and prepared before fusing the anchors into the arbor. During the placing of the filament and the inserting of the anchors each of the support wires is firmly supported by the anchor holder so that they will be displaced or deformed only very slightly.

In an apparatus constructed according to the invention the filament may be fed into place on the support wire thru a hook former comprising a tubular mandrel having a bore slightly greater than the outside diameter of the filament and externally the shape of the interior of the eye or hook of the anchor, and a suitable hook bender adjacent the end of the mandrel for bending the end of the support wire around the external surface of this tubular mandrel into the desired hook or eye.

If it is necessary to mount afilament in the eyes of anchors then, according to the invention, the tubular mandrel may be a tubular pin and the hook bender a sleeve with a proj ecting lug or cam which can rotate around the pin,the filament being fed thru the bore of this pin. According to the invention a wire feed device for the support wire is mounted to cooperate with an anchor holder for the support wires. The anchor holder has grooves extending radially from its center, while between the wire feed device and the anchor holder is installed the hook former which bends the end of the support wire into an eye encircling the filament, and a filament feed mechanism which feeds the filament into the hook former. The anchor holder may be rotatable so that each of its grooves may be brought into register with the wire feed device and be in a position in which the support wire may be pushed endwise into the connection with the accompanying drawing groove in the anchor holder by the wire feeding device. The wire is then held fast in the groove and is cut oif to the proper length, after which the hook former, which also guides the filament into place, bends that part of the su port ,wire which projects from the outer end of the groove around the filament which has in the meantime been fed into place.

The invention will best be understood in which shows merely for purposes of illustration one form of device constructed aocording to the invention and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus for mounting a .coiled filament in the eyes of anchors; Fi ure 2 is a perspective view showing parts the apparatus during the bending of the eye of the first anchor; Figure 3 a perspective view of another part for lift ing the ends of the filament into place in the hooks on the leadsof the mount; Figure 4 a view showing the clamping of the ends of the filament into the hooks on the leads, and Figures 5 and 6 views showing diagrammatically a means for placing very thin wires in the grooves of the anchor holder.

In the drawing a wire feed device comprising feed rolls 10 and 11 feeds from a spool and guides into the grooves in the anchor holder a wire 12 from which is cut off the suport wire for the filament of anincandescent amp. The wire 12 passes from the spool thru a wire guide 13 and can be cut by a wire cutter 14 into a support wire of proper length.

Directly in front of the wire feed device'is mounted a hook former, comprising a bending sleeve 15 rotatable around a tubular mandrel or hollow pin 16 which has drilled thru it a central longitudinal hole thru which the filament can pass. This tubular mandrel or pin 16 may be associated with the funnel 17 of a filament feed device in such a way that a coiled filament cut to the proper length and dropped into the fund will slide downwards and move endwise inside the tubular mandrel until eventually its end projects from the outlet 18 of the tubular mandrel.

A rotatable anchor holder 20 mounted on the upper end of a shaft 19 and having several radial anchor grippers comprising grooves 21 holds the support wires or anchors supplied to it by the wire feed device. By means of the shaft 19 and any suitable intermittent driving gear the anchor holder is turned .ste by step so that the grooves 21 of e anchor grippers are brought in succession into registry with the end of the support wire 12. In such position of a groove 21 the support wire 12 when moving forwards will enter the groove and will move forward in the groove until its inner end projects slightly into a central cavity or cup 22 in the anchor holder. Thereupon the wire will be firmly held in place on the anchor holder by the anchor grippers formed by the groove and a wire gripper such as a semi-circular cam 23 projecting into the groove to grip and hold the anchor in place, and while held the wire is cut ofi to the proper length by the wire cutter 14. The

. wire gripping cams 23 of the anchor gripper may be formed on the upper end of rods .rod against the tension of the coil spring,

until the cam is moved into such a position that it is flush with the side of the groove. With the cam in this position the support wire may be fed into the groove, as the cam does not'obstruct the movement of the wire along the groove. After the wire has been brought into place the wire gripping cam is released and in closing clamps the wire to the side of the groove in a certain and definite position with its inner end projecting into the cavity 22.

Afterthe wire 12 has been fed into the anchor holder and has been cut oif to form a support wire which is gripped by the wire ipperthe tubular pin or mandrel 16 and the rotatable bending sleeve 15 are in such a position that the end of the support wire projecting from the rim of the anchor holder is between the bending cam 25 and the outlet 18 of the tubular mandrel or pin 16. Previous tothis time, and while the anchor holder was m its preceding or initial position a coiled filament 26 cut to the proper length has been dropped into the funnel 17 of the filament feed mechanism and slid lengthwise thru the tubular pin 16 until its end projects thru the outlet 18. The protruding end of the filament is seized by a filament gripper comprising a lug 27 on the side of the anchor holder in which lug a. filament gripping jaw 28 is pivoted and travels with the anchor holder. This jawmay have a fin 29 which acts as a stop for the end of the filament and prevents the filament movin too far out of the tubular mandrel 16. A s ot in the anchor holder receives this fin when the jaw 28 is closed. When the coiled filament appears thru the outlet 18 it will be seized as the filament gripping jaw 28 closes and will be held between this jaw and the side of the anchor holder, and then the anchor holder moves one step into the position shown in Figure 1, thereby bringing the first roove into registry with the wire feeding evice,

v and also pulling some of the filament out of the mandrel.

As has already been point out, the outer end of the su port wire held in the groove 21 of the hol or projects beyond the rim of the holder and is located between the pin or mandrel 16 and the bending cam 25. If the bending sleeve 15 is now rotated around the pin or mandrel 16 the rejecting outer end of the support wire will be bent around the mandrel into an eye which encircles the coiled filament projecting from the outlet of the tubular mandrel. If the mandrel 1G is now pulled back, the eye which has been formed around the filament is freed from the mandrel and at the same time the coiled filament 26 is mounted in the eye. The anchor holder is now rotated another step, a support wire is thrust into the next groove 21, its outer end bent, and so on at each of the other grooves 21 until the required number of support wires has been placed in the anchor holder. When these wires are all positioned in the anchor holder the wire feed device ceases operation, and the nextand final step of the anchor holder pulls out of the mandrel 16 the other end of the filament which is thus brought within range of another filament gripping jaw 30 mounted on the anchor holder beside the jaw 28 and also provided with a fin 31 which will act as a stop to insure the proper positioning of the other end of the filament.

The support wires or anchors are now positioned in the anchor holder in the same relative position they will occupy in the finished mount, the coiled filament is mounted in the eye or hooks on the outer ends of the anchors and the inner ends of the anchors project into the cavity22 at the center of the anchor holder, but do -not touch each other.

Now the anchors are all simultaneously inserted in the arbor of the stem substantially as shown in U. S. Patent to Schlut er 1,238,575, August 28, 1917, and without change in position in the anchor holder by bringing the hot soft end of the arbor into the cup 22 of the anchor holder, causin the hot glass to form a button which over ows and embeds the inner ends of the anchors in the button. In the particular apparatus shown a vertically reciprocating stem holder 32, adjacent which are some burners 33 for heating the lower end of the arbor of the stem, normally holds up out of the way a stem of the usual construction, comprisin a flare 34, leads 35 having hooks 36 on the lowerends, and a glass rod or arbor 37 for holding the anchors. When the stem holder is up as shown in full lines in Figure 1, the end of the arbor 37 is in range of the burners 33 and is softened while the anchors are being placed in the anchor holder. By the time the anchors are all in place and .the other" end of the filament is out of the mandrel 16 the end of the arbor is soft and is usually in the form of a ball of hot soft glass. Now the heated end of the arbor is brought into the cavity 22 by lowering the stem holder 32, and the inner ends of all the anchors will be embedded simultaneously in the button formed on the arbor as its softened end fills the cavity 22 and overflows the projecting inner ends ofthe positioned anchors. While the anchor block is stationary at the end of its revolution during which the filament was mounted on the anchors all the wire gripping cams may be opened simultaneously by a ring 38 concentric with the shaft 19 and carried in lugs on the anchor block so as to be rotatable on the anchor block through a small angle. The ring which is normally held in the inactive position shown inFig. 1 by a spring may be rotated through this small angle in the direction of the arrow and against the pull of the spring by a rock arm 38 actuated from the driving mechanism and cooperating with a pin or similar projection 38 on the ring. When the ring 38 is rotated while the anchor block is stationary pins 39 projecting from the upper side of the ring engage the arms 24 of the wire gripping cams 23 and open 'all the cams, whereby the anchors are released and lie loose in the grooves 21 of the anchor block;

so that when the stem holder 32 is raised the mount with the anchors and the filament in place can be lifted up out of'the anchor holder and later removed from the stem holder. The

operator has now only to connect the ends I of the filament to the leads by placing the filament ends in the hooks 36 and closing the hooks in order to have the mount ready for sealing into the bulb.

To eliminate the operation of connecting by hand the ends of the filament to the leads there may be provided filament end lifters which will automatically place the ends of the mounted filament in the hooks of the leads.

As shown in Figure 3 the filament end lifter comprises an arm 40 pivoted to the anchor holder in such a way that when the arm is down as shown in full lines, the end of the filament will drop onto and be caught by the arm. A filament catcher 41 is secured to the arm to hold the end of the filament near the end of the arm 40 as the arm swings up toward the anchor holder. The catch normally projects from the inner surface of the arm, and is held in this operative position by a leaf spring 42 on the rear of the arm. As the arm swings upward it carries the end of the filament up with it until the arm is vertical, with the end of the filament against the lead 35 and immediately above the hook 36 which has been brought into the position shown in Figures 3 and 4, as the stem was lowered. At this time the filament gripping jaws 28 and 30 are open. As the filament end lifter reaches the end of its upward travel the catch 41 is retracted by its lower end 43 encountering the side of the anchor holder, and thereupon the end of the filament is freed and falls into the hook 36. The ends of the filament are now in place in the books 36 as shown in Fig. 4, the end lifters now fall back and the filament gripping jaws close, thereby closing the hooks 36 on the ends of the filament and connecting it to 5 the leads. The filament gripping jaws now open, and when the support wiregrippers 23 are opened the completed mount may be removed.

When the support wires are very thin it may be desirable to provide a wire lifter to assist in placing the support. wire in the groove 21. Such a lifter is illustrated diagrammatically in Figures 5 and 6, and comprises a loop 44 so mounted and actuated that when the wire 12 begins to feed toward the anchor holder the loop is adjacent the outer end of the groove in position to receive the chor holder, andthen travels toward the center of the holder at the same rate as the fire.

When the loop with the'end of wire 12 in it passes the edge of the cavity 22 it drops, 25 thereby laying the wire in the groove, and then continues its forward movement until it passes off the end of the wire after which it lifts again and retreats to its normal position out of the way of the other mechanisms.

The details of the driving mechanisms for imparting the necessary movements to the various parts of the apparatus in the sequence above described are not shown, as many forms may be used, and suitable forms will be obvious to a skilled designer of machinery of this character. i What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The method of mounting filaments on the support wires of incandescent lamps and similar devices which consistsin positioning and holding a plurality of straight support wires in a holder with one end of each wire projecting from the holder, placing the fila-. ment transversely of said projecting ends of the support wires, bending said projecting ends about the filament, and inserting the other ends of-a1l of said positioned supportwires simultaneously in the glass arbor of a stem. P

2. In a filament mounting device, the combination with a holder for holding a straight su port wire with a portion projecting from said holder, of a hook former-com using a tubular mandrel with an external s ape cor responding to that of the interior of a hook for holding a filament and a hook bender rotatable on said mandrel, said hook former being so mounted'that the support wire pro- 'ecting from said holder extends transversely of and tangential to said mandrel, filament 4 feed mechanism for feeding a filament through the bore of said mandrel into place and transversely of said projecting support wife, and driving: means for actuating said hook former to bend said projecting support wire about said mandrel.

3. In a filament mounting device, the combination with a holder for holding a straight support wire with a portion projecting from said. holder, of a hook former comprlsing a tubular mandrel so mounted that the support wire projecting from said holder extends transversely of and tangential to said mandrel, and a bending sleeve with a projecting lug rotatable about said mandrel in a path transverse to said projecting support wire to bend said wire around said mandrel into 'a hook,- a filament feeder for feeding a filament through said mandrel and across the projecting support wire and actuating means for rotating said bending sleeve. end of the wire. After the wirehas passed into the loop a short distance the loop lifts far a0 enough to clear the upper surface of the an- 4. In a filament mounting device, the combination of an anchor holder having a plurality of radial grooves, a wire feed device for feeding straight wires into each of said grooves in succession to leave a portion of each of said wires projecting from said holder, a filament feeder and hook former between said holder and said wire feed device for placing a filament adjacent and transversely of the projectin portion of said'support wire in said hol er and bending said 1 wire about said filament while it is in place, and actuating means for moving said filament feeder and hook former and said holder relatively to each other to bring each of said grooves in succession into registry with said filament feeder and hook former and for actuatin said filament feeder and hook former while in registry with each groove.

5. In a filament mounting device, the combination of a rotatable anchor holder having radial rooves, a wire feeddevice for feeding a wire endwise toward the center of said holder, means for actuating said holder to bring each of said grooves in succession into registry with said wire feed device, a wire,

cutter for cutting said wire to leave a portion projecting from said holder, a wire gripper for clamping firmly in said groove the wire fed into said groove, and means for placing a filament adjacent said projecting portion of the wire clamped in said holder and bending said portion about the filament to form a hook for holding the filament.

6. The method of mounting a filament which comprises holding support wires in pre-determinedpositions about a common center withv their inner ends in the same plane and separated, placing the filament near the outer ends of saidpositioned wires, bendin the outen ends of said positioned wires .11 ut said filainent, and embedding the inner ends of said-positioned in a massof glass.

7. The method of mounting-a filament which loomprises Yholding support wires radially about a common. center with their inner ends in the same plane and separated,

placin --a filament transversely of said wires near t eir outer ends and substantially con centric with said center, bending the outer ends of said wires about said filament, and bringing the softened end of a glass rod to said common center and expanding said softened end to form a button and simultaneously embed the inner ends of said wires in the button so formed.

8. The method of mounting a filament which comprises positioning anchors radially about a common center with their inner ends in the same plane and separated, securing the filament to theouter ends of said positioned anchors, and embedding the inner ends of said positioned anchors simultaneously in a softened portion of a glassrod.

9. The method of mounting a filament which comprises positioning a plurality of anchors with their inner ends adjacent, mounting a filament on said anchors near their outer ends, and producing relative wires about the movement of said positioned anchors and a mass of softened glass to embed the inner ends of said anchors simultaneously insaid softened glass.

10. The method of mounting a filament which comprises positioning and holding a plurality of anchors with their inner ends adjacent, bending the outer ends of said positioned anchors in succession about a fila-' ment, embedding the inner ends of said positioned anchors simultaneously in the softened end of an arbor of a stem comprisin a pair of leads, securing the ends of said ament to said leads, and releasing all said positioned anchors.

11. In a filament mounting device, the combination of an anchor holder having a central cavity and a plurality of grooves extending radially from said cavity, wire grippers mounted in said grooves, a wire feed device for placing wiresin said grooves, a filament feeding and hook forming mechanism for positioning a filament near the outer ends of the wires in said grooves and bending said wires about the filament, and

a stem holder for holding a stem with the ends of its arbor in registry with said cavity in said anchorholder, said stem holder and said anchor holder being relatively movably toward and away from each other.

12. In a filament mounting device, the combination of an anchor holder having a .central cavity and a plurality of grooves ex- 7 tending radially from said cavity, wire grippers mounted in said grooves, a wire feed device for placing wires in said grooves, a filament feeding and hook forming mechanism for positioning a filament near the outer ends of the wires in said iglrooves and bending said ament, and actuating means for opening and closing said wire filament near the outer ends of the wires in said grooves and bending said wires about. the filament, means for opening and closin each of said wire grippers as a wire is fe into the corresponding groove, and means for simultaneously opening all of said wire PP 14. In a filament mounting device, the combination of an anchor holder for holding a plurality of anchors radially dis osed about a common center, a filament coding and hook forming mechanism adjacent said holder for mounting a filament on the outer ends of the anchors in said holder, a stem holder movable relatively to said anchor holder to bring the end of the arbor of a stem in said holder into juxtaposition to the inner ends of said anchors in said holder and the ends of its leads adjacent said holder, and filament end lifters on said anchor holder movable to lift the ends of the mounted filament into juxtaposition to the ends of the leads of said stem.

15. In a filament mounting device, the combination of an anchor holder for holding a plurality of anchors radially disposed about a common center, filament feeding and hook forming mechanism adjacent said holder for mountin a filament on the outer ends of the anchors m said holder, a stem holder movable relatively to said anchor'holder to bring the end of the arbor of a stem in saidholder into juxtaposition to the inner ends of said anchors in said holder, and the ends of its leads adjacent said holder, and filament end lifters on said anchor holder comprising lifting arms pivoted to said holder to swing upward toward the leads of said stem to a substantially vertical position, each arm having a filament catch operative to hold the end of the filament'adjacent the outer end of said lifting arm while said arm is down and rendered inoperative when said arm is vertical to permit the end of the filament to drop into a,hook on a lead of said stem.

16. In a filament mounting device, the combination of an anchor holder having a groove and a wire feed device forfeeding a wire endwise toward the center of said holder, and into said groove comprising means for advancing the wire endwise along the groove, and a wire lifter comprising a loop movable longitudinally and transversely of said ath to 11ft the end of said wire, carry it a ong said groove, and lower it into said groove.

17 In a. filament mounting device the combination of an intermittently rotatable bending sleeve while said anchor holder is circular anchor holder for holding a pluralstationary. ity of anchors radially disposed about its In wltness whereof, I have hereunto set axis of rotation and having anchor grippers my hand this'25th day October, 1927. for at will clamping said anchors to saidv mnnnn: nn'JONG. m

anchor holder with their outer ends projecting beyond its rim, a filament feeding and hook forming mechanism mounted ad acent the rim of said anchor holder to deliver a filam ment tangential to said anchor holder and 75 transversely of and adjoining the projecting end of an anchor in said holder and to bend said projecting end around the filament into a hoo ,cand actuating-means for rotatin said anchor holder step by step to bring eac anso chor gripper in succession into registry with said mechanism and operating said mechanism while said anchor gripper is in registry with it. 2o 18. In a filament mounting device the com- 85 bination of an intermittently rotatable circular anchor holder for holding a plurality of anchors radially disposed about its axis of rotation and having anchor grippers for at'will clamping said anchors to said anchor co holder with their outer ends projecting beyond its rim, a filament feeding and hook forming mechanism mounted adjacent the rim of said anchor holder to deliver a filao ment tangential tosaid anchor'holder and 95 transversely of and adjoining the projecting end of an anchor in said holder'and to bend said projecting end around the filament to a form a hook, a wire feed for feeding an ana chor wire into said anchor holder and in op- 10o erative relation to said hook forming mechanism, and actuatin means for rotating said anchor holder step y step and for actuating -"said hook-mecha'fi'sin' and said wire feed in 40 predetermined time relation. 105

19. In a'filament mounting device the combination of an intermittently rotatable'circula'r anchor holder for holdin a plurality of anchors radially disposed a out its axis of rotation and having anchor grippers-for 110 I at will clamping said anchors to said anchor holder with their outer ends projecting beyond its rim, a tubular mandrel with its de- V livery end set tangential to'the rim of said anchor holder and having a bore through which a filament'may slide endwise, a hook bending sleeve rotatable about said mandrel and having on its end adjacent'the delivery end of said mandrel a projecting hook bending lu eccentric to said mandrel,'.an anchor no feed a jacent said mandrel to, feed an anchor wire radially of said holder to bringits'outer end between said mandrel and said lug, and

actuating mechanism which rotates said anchor holder step by step to each anchor griplper in'succession into registry with said I one or feed and then opens the said anchor gr pper, actuates said anchor feed, closes I 66 and anchor gripper," androtates'said hook 

